And now the end is near
So I face the final curtain
My friend, I'll say it clear
I'll state my case of which I'm certain
I've lived a life that's full
I've traveled each and every highway
And more, much more than this
I did it my way
Regrets, I've had a few
But then again, too few to mention
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exception
I planned each charted course
Each careful step along the byway
And more, much more than this
I did it my way
Yes, there were times, I'm sure you know
That I bit off more than I could chew
But through it all when there was doubt
I ate it up and spit it out
I faced it all and I stood tall
And did it my way
I've loved, I've laughed and cried
I've had my fill, my share of losing
And now as tears subside
I find it all so amusing
To think I did all that
And may I say, not in a shy way
Oh, no, no not me
I did it my way
For what is a man, what has he got
If not himself, then he has not
To say the words he truly feels
And not the words of one who kneels
The record shows I took the blows
And did it my way
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Paul Anka / Gilles Thibaut / Claude Francois / Jacques Revaux
My Way lyrics © Barclay Eddie Nouvelles Editions, Jeune Musique Editions
d.: Elvis Presley was a talented man. He finished fifth in a talent competition when he was ten years old. I’m not sure what happened to the people who finished one through four, but I’m almost sure that we wouldn’t recognized their names. Alive had charisma, charm, and stage presence in addition to his powerful baritone voice.
According to all accounts, Elvis was a generous easy-going man before fame made him try a different life style than he had been raised with. HIs favorite songs were hymns such as “How Great Thou Art.” He was reading the book “A Scientific Search for the Face of Jesus” by Frank O Adams when he died. He started out his adult life humbly, as a truck driver, until his confidence led him to cut a single entitled “That’s All Right, Moma.” That single sold 20,000 copies. That recording put him on his way…to meet Colonel Tom Parker. That may have been the best and worst thing that ever happened to my home state’s favorite icon. Tom Parker served in the military,but was chareged with desrtion. Hid title of Colconel was an honoray one, bestowed on him by Louisianna poitician for serving in the Louisianna milita, but he was a huckster.
Tom Parker was a genius at promoting, but not a nice person. I believe that Tom Hanks’ portrayal of the shyster in the movie “Elvis” was quite accurate. That, according to the person who knew him best, his stepbrother, Rick Stanley, started Elvis on a downward spiral into drugs and alcohol, taking his impressionable stepbrother with him. No one wanted to confront Elvis for fear of being fired, or worse.
Rick Stanley was a minister after Elvis died. He traveled around the country and told his story. Rick knew that his and Elvis’ lifestyle had cost him years off his life. He died of liver and kidney failure in 2019 at 65.
The point of my history lesson about my favorite performer is this: be careful of the people around you. Elvis had more number one hits on the charts than anyone until the Beatles came to the U.S. Their twenty chart toppers topped Elvis’ number by two. Yet, Elvis’ estate was worth an estimated $700,000, or about three and one-half million dollars in today’s money. There are average major league baseball players whose annual salary is more than twice that much in the twenty-first century..
Cal.E. should be back tomorrow with some interesting takes on animal and human life, so please join my cohost and me tomorrow for another episode of Cal.E.’s Korner.